ISLINGTON ECC CELEBRATING 50 YEARS AS COMMUNITY-BASED CENTRE
The Centre has a rich history. In 1973, the newsletter of the Dunedin Collective for Women reported: "On the local scene, a group of dedicated, energetic parents, frustrated by the scarcity of established and quality pre-school centres, is endeavouring to open an independent centre with a difference. Its function is two-fold – to provide a stimulating educative programme for pre-schoolers, while at the same time fulfilling an urgent daycare need for parents working outside the home and helping to free women from gender discrimination. The group envisaged housing the school in the Leith Valley."
The Dunedin Collective for Woman as feminists, stated they wanted programmes that would “stimulate our children, broaden their perceptions of stereotypical gender roles, recognise their agency, and encourage positive behaviour and creativity.” For that, they decided they needed their own community-based pre-school.
The Centre first began on a farmlet in Glenleith, in a borrowed premises in the form of a Villa kindly offered by Peter and Joan Wilson. This was the start of the preschool, which was called the Glenleith Cooperative Free School. They adopted a fee structure on a sliding scale, so parents paid what they could afford.
Denny Boothe accepted the job of preschool teacher at “something like $1,000 per annum,” she recalls. “The parents were a great group of people with many talents––artists, students, musicians, writers, accountants, hippies, teachers, lecturers, even a grave-digger.”
The pre-school lasted about a year at Glenleith before the Wilsons needed their villa back. By that time, it had become an officially incorporated society. On 1st May 1974, the Dunedin Preschool Association Incorporated was born. Erik Olssen recalls this as one of the most bureaucratic, time-consuming tasks he ever undertook in gaining the Certificate of Incorporation. Denny remembers that they had to drop the word “cooperative” from the title because the Registrar of Incorporated Societies said it belonged to the dairy industry, where it had a different meaning. However, the idea of cooperation remained an important principle, which Denny infused into the daily programmes and relationships.
The group raised the money to buy the Frame Street house, where the Childcare Centre is now located, and became known as the Frame Street Preschool. Support came from those who could afford it, in the form of bonds or loans, which were repayable as the pre-school became able to do so. Several people generously donated their bonds back. Child experts Phyllis Levitt and (likely) Pat Hubbard designed the playground, with fathers such as Murray Webb, Erik Olssen, John Harris, and Bill Grant providing the labour.
In 1976, a government grant from International Women’s Year funds allowed another group from the Dunedin Collective for Women to establish the Dunedin Community Day-Care Centre for younger children. Initially, it served as a training ground for home carers, later becoming a new model day-care centre with a quality educational programme. It is now called Pioneers. By that time, Dunedin was ready for the idea, thanks to the energetic years when the Women’s Liberation Movement consistently advocated for 24-hour quality day-care. The success of the pre-school helped pave the way for high-quality day-care programmes, which benefited both women and children.
Over five decades, the Centre has stayed true to its values, offering a quality educational experience while fostering community involvement and gender equality. There have also been a few name changes over the years.
1973 – Glenleith Cooperative School – The original name when the Centre began at the Wilsons' house near the Pineapple Track.
1974 – Frame Street Preschool – After moving to Frame Street, North East Valley, the Centre became known by this name. However, it was officially registered as the Dunedin Incorporated Preschool Association.
1990 – Islington Street Preschool Incorporated – The name was changed to reflect the street that provided access to the preschool, making it easier for people to find.
1999 – Islington Early Childhood Centre – The most recent name change reflected the Centre’s adoption of the Te Whāriki principles, aligning with its commitment to developing an early learning curriculum tailored to the community’s unique needs and priorities.
Each name change marked a significant step in the Centre’s evolution and its role within the community.
Over the last 50 years, each committee has worked hard to celebrate milestones and the community that Islington has built. The 25th Anniversary saw a large collection of information and documentation gathered. There have also been celebrations for the 30th and 40th anniversaries. One notable thing, as you read through the minutes from 1973 through the 1980s and 1990s, and 2000’s is the dedication and effort parents were—and continue to be, willing to put into the Centre when it was their turn, ensuring the Centre and its facilities remain available for future generations.
Islington Early Childhood Centre as it is known today employs three fully qualified early childhood teachers, and a teacher support. It follows Te Whāriki, the national curriculum, offering both structured and free play in our morning and full-day sessions. One of our key points of difference today is the small number of children at the Centre. We are licensed for 20 children, aged 2 to 6 years, from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday, during the primary school term. Children can choose from planned indoor and outdoor activities where they are supported, guided, and encouraged to learn, grow, and use their imaginations within a safe environment, secure in their sense of belonging.
A special feature on Wednesdays is the Tuakana Group, exclusively for four-year-olds, who enjoy special afternoons exploring the community––, local parks, museums, Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden. Traveling by bus or walking train, together with the support of the teachers, who put the thought into the planning and logistics of these adventures. The older children get a sense of being the senior kids at the Centre, building a supportive peer group.
Islington is also special as children see it as a fun place to spend a few hours each day with the friends they develop.
Islington Early Childhood Centre is a non-profit organisation, and it has a strong family atmosphere, where parents, alongside teachers, can be empowered by joining the Parent Committee. The committee consists of parents of children attending the Centre or still affiliated with it. This structure ensures that all decisions remain child-focused, while also providing parents the opportunity to learn new skills or enhance existing ones, working alongside the experienced teaching team to keep the Centre operational.
Parent involvement is crucial to the running of a small centre like Islington but also an important longstanding value of the Centre, where parents are encouraged to join in at Centre, or stay with their child as they see fit. Having this committee work alongside the teachers fosters a sense of community among those who attend the Centre.
The community celebration on 23rd November is open to all past, present, and prospective families, together with all staff and the wider North East Valley and Dunedin communities.
There will be face painting, storytelling from Kat Anna Fiddle – the dynamic duo Kaitrin McMullan (storyteller) and Anna Bowen (musician) – described as Dunedin’s deliciously dynamic duo with a black belt in alliteration. There will be puppets, music, and stories.
The event will also include speeches, a cake, and the unveiling of something special to mark this milestone. Lunch will be provided for all attendees.
As Denny Boothe recently stated, “It takes hard work to run a good preschool, and it says a lot about the community around North East Valley where the pre-school has thrived, with its values intact for over 50 years.”
Special thanks to Jocelyn Harris, a founding member of the Dunedin Collective for Women, who was involved in setting up the Frame Street Preschool, which her daughter Lison attended from 1972 to about 1975 and also to Denny Boothe, the first preschool teacher, for providing background on how the Centre was set up.
The photos provided are from Rosemarie Smith, one of the first Supervisors from 1975.
For further information, see various Dunedin Collective for Woman files deposited in the Hocken Library, Dunedin, and Elizabeth Harrison, https://nzhistory.govt.nz/women-together/dunedin-collective-woman
